Blog Archives

There is no doubt about it. We LOVE to read and we want to cultivate that same love of reading in our students. One way we can do this is by talking about the books we love and involving our kids in the process.

Jen LaGarde and I are teaming up to bring you the World Book Talk Championship. This is the Super Bowl of book talks. (We even included a few fun reading-themed commercials to complete the Super Bowl feel.) We started with 16 incredible educators who each submitted a short book talk video. We’re down to four finalists and we need your help. Who will win the coveted “Vince LomBooki” award for best book talk in the world?

It’s “I Love to Read Month” and we’re feeling the love! Click HERE to view the championship round of the podcast. In the eight minute video you’ll see two “Literacy Legends” take on two “Lead Learners,” but only one person can hoist the championship trophy. YOU decide!

Click HERE to cast your vote online…voting is open through February. We’re also seeing classrooms create their own versions of the #30SecondTake book talks too. We’d love for you to share these with us as well. Most importantly…keep reading!

Each year our school displays several “Literacy-O-Lanterns” in the Media Center for students to enjoy. Armed with only a Sharpie and some acrylic paint, I decorate the pumpkins with characters or cover art from popular children’s books. This year’s crop features some new titles and old favorites. Our ultimate goal is to foster a genuine love of reading, and to get kids talking about their favorite books.

How many of the characters & books represented on the pumpkins can YOU guess?

Hints:

One of the pumpkins above is connected to the 2014 Global Read Aloud created by Pernille Ripp. Check out the hashtag on Twitter #GRA14 and be sure to follow @PernilleRipp for more global literacy opportunities for students.

One of the pumpkins features a boy named Wendell (who also happens to be the world’s worst wizard). The title is also part of the #WorldBookTalk project. The book’s cover is a trigger image powered by Augmented Reality. Huge shout-out to John Spencer for co-authoring this enchanting read! Be sure to follow @EdRethink on Twitter to catch all of John’s blog posts too.

One of the pumpkins pictured above is part of a series that my daughters LOVED. With more than 100 titles, the series kept them reading, and reading, and reading…it was awesome!

One of the books below was written by my friend, Todd Nesloney. The message of the book is that we all have something important to offer the world. You can read more about the book, Spruce and Lucy, in this blog post.

Click the picture to download the complete PDF for the Phases of AR in Education.

Last evening I was engaged in a collaborative discussion on Twitter with two connected educators; Brad Waid and Kristen Eveland. We were discussing the possible phases of Augmented Reality (AR) in Education. The diagram above represents many of the ideas we brainstormed, and if you click on the image you’ll see a more complete PDF with one possible application of AR.

It’s important to point out that the phases are not intended to represent a hierarchy, and as such the “Awareness” level seemingly encompasses all of the phases. There is certainly a comingling between different phases; certain Augmented Reality apps are inherently more equipped to allow for “Creation” than others. However, I strongly feel that innovation is possible with most of the AR apps available to educators today.

What I valued most about our dialogue wasn’t the topic (although I LOVE the possibilities that AR presents). I appreciated the deeper reflection and questions that our exchange generated. Late in the evening on a Saturday night we were brainstorming the hows & whys of a game-changing tool. It was also clear that the comments that Brad and Kristen shared were in support of creating an engaging student learning experience.

Connecting with fellow educational leaders to reflect on our practice and discuss the purpose of what we are doing for our students is one of the many things I value in my Professional Learning Network (PLN). A special thanks to @TechBradWaid & @KEveland2 for their sharing.

What are your thoughts on the phases of AR in Education? What did we miss?

Welcome to the AR Collaborative: A World Book Talk. I’m including a parent letter below for any school or classroom wishing to participate. The informational letter provides key details of the project and allows parents the option of opting out of the video submission portion of the World Book Talk. Click the link below to print a Project Letter PDF:

Why: To foster a lifelong appreciation of reading while modeling meaningful technology integration. Book talks also activate students’ prior knowledge and help them make important connections to a text.

Top 10 Book Talk Tips:

Speak loudly and be clear while creating your 60 second video.

The target audience is PreK – 12 students.

Be creative & have fun. Your audience will sense your passion for the book and its theme.

Mention the title and author during your book talk.

Students creating videos should only mention their first name.

The beginning of your book talk video should include a “hook” or attention grabber.

If you have a special connection to the book or author you could mention that.